Solving the child care crisis isn’t just a political concern—it’s essential for building resilient workforces and fostering dynamic local economies. Part of that resilience comes from implementing a child care continuum: comprehensive support that spans regular child care, backup child care, and sick child care. According to the Best Place for Working Parents’ National Trends Report (2024), small and micro businesses are already paving the way by investing in family-friendly benefits, and it’s making a measurable impact on economic stability.

What is a Child Care Continuum?

Regular Child Care: Foundation of Workforce Stability
Reliable, everyday care sets the stage for parents to plan schedules, maintain consistent working hours, and excel in their professional roles. This foundational layer of support keeps businesses humming and local economies flourishing.
Backup Child Care: Bridging Unexpected Gaps
Nearly 60% of small businesses now offer backup child care. When routine arrangements fall through—like a daycare closure—employees can tap into backup services to ensure minimal disruption. Fewer missed workdays means higher productivity, benefitting the entire community.
Sick Child Care: Protecting Productivity and Health
Illness often arrives without warning. Sick child care allows employees to remain productive while their children receive the care they need. This ensures continuity at work and reduces ripple effects on project timelines and team dynamics.

Remember: Even if employees don’t have children themselves, most work closely with colleagues who do—meaning challenges around child care can affect everyone.

Tech Industry’s Role in Addressing Child Care Challenges

A growing number of technology companies are actively investing in solutions to ease the child care crisis. A recent report by NPR highlights how tech giants and startups alike are launching new platforms to streamline child care access, reduce workforce disruptions, and boost employee retention.

Some notable efforts include:

Real-time Child Care Matching: Companies like TOOTRiS and Wonderschool use AI-driven platforms to connect working parents with licensed child care providers in real time, giving employees greater flexibility and reducing the stress of last-minute care gaps.
Corporate-Sponsored Child Care Initiatives: Major firms such as Google and Salesforce have introduced in-house daycare centers and stipends for child care, reinforcing their commitment to workforce stability.
Subscription-Based Backup Care: Several startups are testing subscription models where employers cover a portion of on-demand child care services, ensuring that employees can continue working even when their usual caregivers are unavailable.

By integrating tech-driven solutions into the child care continuum, businesses can further enhance productivity, talent retention, and overall economic resilience.

Building Economic Resilience

As businesses recognize the vital connection between child care and workforce stability, they are increasingly investing in solutions that support employees while strengthening the broader economy. By integrating child care into workforce strategies, companies can enhance productivity, reduce turnover, and contribute to long-term community resilience.

Boosting Productivity
Encompassing regular, backup, and sick child care under one strategic approach helps keep employee absenteeism in check. This multifaceted support helps organizations maintain consistent output and strengthens broader economic growth.
Reducing Turnover and Increasing Retention
Family-friendly policies—especially a full spectrum of child care options—often lead to higher employee retention rates. Supported workers are more likely to stay long-term, reducing costly turnover and preserving institutional knowledge.
Strengthening Community Stability
By investing in the entire child care continuum, businesses reinforce local economies. When families thrive, they remain in the community, driving commerce and contributing to a robust tax base—an essential element of any economic development strategy.

Other Examples of Implementation

In this 10-minute panel, Mazda Toyota Manufacturing showcased their innovative child care program, developed in partnership with TOOTRiS, that improved employee retention, productivity, and work-life balance.

Corporate Care Solutions
Corporate Care Solutions specializes in employer-sponsored backup and sick child care programs, helping companies swiftly address unexpected child care gaps.
TOOTRiS
TOOTRiS connects families with real-time child care resources, from regular to backup care. This employer-sponsored model streamlines access to licensed providers, bolstering productivity across all levels of an organization.
Digi-Key
In Thief River Falls, MN, Digi-Key, recognizing child care shortages could hinder its growth, collaborated with community stakeholders to expand child care options.

High-ROI, Family-Friendly Policies

Amid post-pandemic budget constraints, small businesses are doubling down on dependable child care solutions. Providing a continuum of child care resources yields high ROI by enhancing employee morale, retention, and engagement, and the benefits reverberate throughout communities.

“Many business leaders are looking for ways to stand out in the competitive labor market and are leaning into family-friendly policies. ... Family-friendly benefits are no longer a nice-to-have, but a must-have for business leaders in all industries.” —Sadie Funk, National Director of The Best Place for Working Parents

Action Steps for Business Leaders

Survey Employees Regularly
“This is one reason why regularly surveying employees is so critical! Employee needs and the childcare landscape are constantly evolving.” —Sadie Funk
Leverage employee resource groups (ERGs), surveys, and listening sessions to gauge which child care supports—regular, backup, or sick—are most crucial.
Integrate Child Care into Strategic Planning
From on-site daycare to partnerships with organizations like Corporate Care Solutions or Tootris, make regular, backup, and sick child care a core part of your talent management and economic growth strategy.
Measure ROI Beyond Short-Term Costs
Offering a robust child care continuum requires upfront investment. However, over time it delivers substantial dividends through improved productivity, reduced turnover, and vibrant community ties—all contributing to economic growth.
Advocate for Policy Changes
In addition to internal initiatives, businesses can play a critical role in shaping legislative efforts that support working families. The bipartisan Affordable Child Care Act, currently moving through Congress, includes provisions to increase Employer-Provided Child Care Credit limits, helping more companies offer meaningful child care benefits. By supporting such policies, business leaders can ensure sustainable, long-term solutions that benefit both employers and employees. To learn more about about all federal tax provisions that support child care to include Employer-Provided Child Care Credit, check out this article.

Ready to Take Action?

Economic developers and business leaders have a unique opportunity to create communities where families can thrive and businesses can flourish. By surveying their workforce, investing in regular, backup, and sick child care solutions, and prioritizing family-centered benefits in your strategic plans, developers and employers can empower workers, strengthen local industries, and help ensure both businesses and communities prosper.

Want to learn more about how businesses can support child care for their employees while also bolstering the local child care infrastructure?

Contact us today.

References

Best Place for Working Parents. (2024). National trends report.

Farrell, C. (2023, April 13). A northwest Minn. city and its biggest employer tackle day care, housing shortages.

First Five Years Fund. (2024, July). Federal tax provisions supporting child care.

First Five Years Fund. (2025, February 12). New poll: GOP voters call on Congress, White House to act on child care.

Lower Bucks Today. (2025, February 19). Affordable Child Care Act aims to ease financial burden on working families.

Michel Carter, C. (2025, February 13). Small businesses are winning the family-friendly workplace race.

Hsu, A. (2024, June 10). An Alabama manufacturer shows how to retain working moms: Child care.

Citation: Anderson, Charity & Gilpin, Staci. (2025). The Child Care Continuum: Powering Resilient Workforces & Thriving Economies. Rural Pathways News.

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A Child Care Continuum: Powering Resilient Workforces & Thriving Economies